An improved apparatus and method are used in the handling of rolls of material. According to one aspect of the invention, the apparatus and method are used to sequentially move rolls of material from a loading station to an unwinding station and to sequentially move empty roll cores from the unwinding station back to the loading station. According to another aspect of the invention, the rolls of material are supported on wheels as they move from a loading station to an unwinding station. In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the rolls are positioned with central axes of cores of the rolls in a horizontal orientation.
During the manufacture of the relatively small rolls of toilet tissue which are commonly sold at retail stores, very large storage rolls of toilet tissue are formed. The large storage rolls of toilet tissue may have a diameter of approximately 2,540 mm and a length of axial extent of approximately 2,650 mm. These large storage rolls of toilet tissue have a weight of approximately 2,000 kg.
During the manufacturing process, the toilet tissue is unwound from the storage rolls and rolled onto long rolls to form what is referred to as logs of toilet tissue. These logs of toilet tissue may have a diameter of approximately 100 to 130 mm and a length or axial extent of approximately 2,650 mm. The relatively long logs are cut into segments to form relatively small rolls of toilet tissue having a length of approximately 100 to 110 mm. These relatively small rolls of toilet tissue are subsequently sold at retail outlets.
The handling of the large and heavy storage rolls of toilet tissue is difficult due to both the size and the weight of the storage rolls. In addition, the large storage rolls of toilet tissue usually do not have a cylindrical configuration. The noncylindrical configuration of the storage rolls of toilet tissue may result from an uneven layering of the compressible toilet tissue material as it is wound onto the cores of the storage rolls. In addition, the weight of the toilet tissue tends to cause the material in the rolls to sag or deform while the rolls are being stored.
Once the toilet tissue has been unwound from the core of a storage roll, it is necessary to return the empty core for reuse in association with subsequently formed storage rolls of toilet tissue. Although the empty storage roll core is no where near as heavy as a storage roll of toilet tissue, the empty cores are relatively heavy since they must be strong enough to hold the weight of the toilet tissue on the storage roll.